


flowers in space

by revoleotion



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Hux discovers how empathy works, Inappropriate Use of the Force, M/M, based on THAT scene in TFA, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revoleotion/pseuds/revoleotion
Summary: And if the circumstances were just a little different, he’d turn around immediately. But Kylo Ren wasn’t alone. Right in front of the self-proclaimed Jedi-Killer hung a human person, already limp from being held in Ren’s choking embrace for so long. Hux knew him. Of course he knew him. He loved his army, the reformed accomplishment he took from his father. One day nobody would remember that old man, one day Hux would fill out that name completely.He knew his army, and he knew his co-workers. It took him one look at Mitaka’s back to know who he was, to remember his soft voice and the way he expected his mother’s monthly mail. Mitaka, now another stress ball in Ren’s hands.And Hux, Hux who always ran away, made a step forward.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Dopheld Mitaka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	flowers in space

**Author's Note:**

> For Aneleise! Hi!

The room he entered felt like hell. Hux froze in the entrance, hands behind his back, mouth opened to declare something, words already escaping his brain as blind, raging fear set in. 

The room was a mess. Red lightsaber strikes all over the consoles, the lights malfunctioning, one lonely light bulb allowing him to see the chaos in all its ugliness. Those red marks had taught Hux to run, to hide, to negotiate his way out before his throat became just another puppet to practice murder on. 

And if the circumstances were just a little different, he’d turn around immediately. But Kylo Ren wasn’t alone. Right in front of the self-proclaimed Jedi-Killer hung a human person, already limp from being held in Ren’s choking embrace for so long. Hux knew him. Of course he knew him. He loved his army, the reformed accomplishment he took from his father. One day nobody would remember that old man, one day Hux would fill out that name completely. 

He knew his army, and he knew his co-workers. It took him one look at Mitaka’s back to know who he was, to remember his soft voice and the way he expected his mother’s monthly mail. Mitaka, now another stress ball in Ren’s hands. 

And Hux, Hux who always ran away, made a step forward. 

“Ren,” he said. 

The masked face turned to him. Hux could only guess the unhinged expression on the man’s, no child’s, face. Every inch of his body begged him to stop. To run. To survive. 

Hux made another step. 

“I need the Lieutenant,” he said, a lie that left him so effortlessly that he believed it himself. That was crucial when lying to Ren who could break your neck with one little squeeze. 

“Saving your useless army won’t bring you anywhere, Hux,” Ren hissed but after a last squeeze, he let go of the lifeless body. It took Hux all his self-control not to rush to Mitaka’s side immediately. 

Hux hadn’t realized it until now but upon entering the room something inside him had broken. He had adored Ren, to the point of staying awake all night and wondering why the universe had cursed him with those feelings. Falling in love with Ren hadn’t been painful but falling out of it was, it hurt so much that it left him breathless. 

“Just because you take your personal feelings into this, Ren, does not mean everyone else does it too,” Hux said to distract from another step he made towards the Lieutenant. He was breathing but still hunched over on the floor, too weak to move. 

Something close to hate filled his body and Hux hoped it was close enough to his usual dislike of Ren not to be suspicious. Loving Ren was painful because being around Ren was. Being around Mitaka felt like looking at flowers, a rare sight at Arkanis and even rarer up in space. One day away from withering. 

Ren looked like he was about to say something but he just made a small sound, lifted his hand and gave Hux’ throat a little Force-embrace. His stomach turned, his hands tried to pull the invisible fingers away, he closed off his mind and waited for it to be over. 

But Ren was just playing with him. Reminding him that it was never over. That he couldn’t kill everyone that mistreated him. That no matter how much time had passed, he still was a child on the floor, being forced to lick up a drink he had spilled--

“Thank you.”

He was on the floor but time had catapulted him forward again. When he cleared his throat, it hurt but not as badly as he had expected. Ren was gone. 

Mitaka didn’t repeat his words but he didn’t have to. The Lieutenant hadn’t gotten up yet, he was carefully touching his throat and flinched when he realized that while the embrace had been invisible, the pain was very much real. His lung made a rattling noise whenever he inhaled and he looked like he was holding back tears. 

“Is this the first time he ever did this to you?” Hux heard himself saying. He was a terrible person, he knew that. Not useless but close to worthless, trapped in a machine that would squeeze out every last bit of his talent, just to throw him away later. In those moments he could see it clearly, he could see how everything was going to end if he didn’t run away now. But he didn’t run. He forced his weak legs to push him up and offered Mitaka a hand. 

“I delivered bad news, I was unprofessional, I’m so sorry...”

So it had been the first time. Or one of the first times. Before the realization that Ren would get rid of you for no other reason than counting it towards his own character development. Ren had the constant need to prove how evil, how ruined he was. 

Mitaka was shaking when he took Hux’ hand and he almost fell when Hux pulled his hand back. Hux caught him by his shoulders and shook his head when the man choked out an apology. 

“Never apologize for that. He had no right,” he said, his voice louder than intended. 

Mitaka looked up to him, his face full of doubt and his eyes close to spilling over. Hux wasn’t sure what he was feeling but all of sudden he pulled the man into an embrace and felt him sobbing against his chest. For the first time he didn’t feel the need to run. He didn’t feel safe yet but he felt like he could fix something that nobody had ever bothered to fix for him. 

“He wanted to kill me. Over a message.” The words escaped Mitaka like it was impossible to hold them in. He still couldn’t control his breathing and he was shaking so much that it sent shivers down Hux’ back. 

Hux had nothing to say to him. Because that was how things were. There were no flowers in space. 

“I’m scared,” Mitaka said. 

Hux shattered. He hadn’t considered himself as a person who had a heart, so it was a surprise when it broke. He wanted to cry but found himself unable to make a sound, to say anything. Nothing had changed, no matter how far he had come. He had just run down a path his father had put him on. All his life he had been running to escape this feeling but he had found enough comfort in it to continue to let it happen. 

“I want you to listen to me, Mitaka,” Hux said, avoiding the title because this was too personal, too traitorous. He pushed the man away but kept on gripping his shoulders because he expected Mitaka to fall if he let go. 

“I will authorize you to take a TIE off this ship. I want you to get away as far as possible. Don’t go near the Hosnian system. Change your name, convert your credits. If you need to keep in contact with your family, make up a good reason for it and make them use your new name. Never contact me again.”

“Sir, I--”

Hux felt tears in his eyes and blinked a few times to get rid of them. Perhaps Mitaka saw them because he didn’t finish his protest. 

“Ren is poison. If he takes over, the First Order will turn into a religious, childish  _ cult _ . He will crush you. Please.” Something ran down his cheek. Hux didn’t dare to check if it was a tear. “This is an order.”

“You are asking me to desert the First Order.”

Another tear. This time Hux was sure it was one, it left a salty aftertaste in his mouth. He didn’t have words left for Mitaka, he just looked at him like he saw him for the first time. 

There are no flowers in space. 

“I am asking you to live,” Hux corrected him.


End file.
